Infant&#39;s bib and auxiliary tray



Oct. 16, 1956 Filed Jan. 21, 1955 J. H. KLAINE INFANTS BiB AND AUXILIARY TRAY 2 Sheets-Sheet l 1N VENTOR JOHN H. KLAINE 5mm & 5mm

ATTORNEYS 1956 J. H. KLAINE 2,766,455

INFANTS BIB AND AUXILIARY TRAY Filed Jan. 21, 1955 2 Shets-Sheec 2 FIG. 4.

1N VENTOR JOHN. H. KLAINE 51mm: & 5m ATTORNEYS United States Patent 2,766,455 mmmrsnm AND-AUXILIARY TRAY Jo'hn'H'. Klaine,- West Palm Beach, Fla. Application January.121,.1 955, Serial N 0. 483,283

6 Claims. (Cl. 2-49) This invention relates to childrensrbibs flHdjlJIEZlYQCOVGI'S and consists -more particularly in: new. and, useful improvements in a combined infants --bib and auxiliary tray adapted for use in-connection with the conventional tray of achilds highchair, a dining tabletorcany suitable flat supporting surface, topreventrthespilling of food or; thedroppingaof' toys" on the-floor. Those familiar withthe :raising of. ;children; well. know .'.the difiiculties encountered particularly,.at feedingxtime, in avoiding the splashing or spilling of food both on the clothing of the child and;on:;theffloor, when ansinfant in-feeding himself or asbeing fed :While seated in .;a :conventional highchair.

object "Of'f the.tinventiont-is to avoidthese difiicult problemstxby providing. :an integral bib t and tray construction tdesigned topretect: the ichilds clothing-and also to confine foodtand utensils to the area immediately in front of thechild.

"Anotherobject of the invention is-to provide ina combination :of i thistype,- -an-auxiliary :"tray structure: having a bottom' boundedat-its' front and. side portions by an upstanding,- inflatable marginal wall, said' bottom being formed of fieiiible plastic materialwhich-serves as amain tray cover and terminates"at -the rear of'the tray 'inan extended integral bib portion. Thetray-is adapted lto serve -as an auxiliary receptacle' which rests uponthe conventional tray of a childswhi'ghehair or other fiat supporting surface withthe bib-:po'rtion extending rearwardly and secured over rthe' childs chest and around his neck in the usual manner.

A further object of theinvention is to p-rovide-an intewalls-whichin use,- serve to form a confining basin or receptaclewhi'ch'may'readily'be collapsed for'storage or shipping.

A still further-object of theinvention is to' provide a q 5 gral bib and'au'xiliary trayhaving inflatable; tubular side device-of this character inwh-ichthe-component parts are secured: together entirely by heat-sealing, soas to avoid the use of stitches.onseamswhichhaveatendency to collectn-Waste particles of-nfood.

Still another. object cof :the: invention, is toszprovidean integrahzbiband tray-structure designed {t give thechild complete freedomof' movement; but-1 at the :sameitime to more z-read ily. intercept and @retain scatteredparticles of food vwhen iusedzat feeding .time, or; Playthings and toys which-:so frequently. are, droppediorq knocked. off 7 of: the childs tray.

\ .A further object of the. invention is to provide. a tray frame having means forfasteningf'the structure to a .table top or' higlichaintray and adapted to. support a removable cover "of suitable plastic,.which' is extended. rearwatdly from the frame to'form 'an"integralbib portion.

Astill furthenobjectof the invention ,is-to provide a combined bib and tray device whichis-simple in construction and economical to manufacture; ryet at the same t-irne,-is sufi'lciently rugged and durableto withstand the rough treatment usually-received by childrens equipment.

With the above and other objects in view,.which will appear as the description proceeds, my invention consists in the novel feat-ureshereinset forth, illustrated;in the accompanying drawings and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

Referring 10*11'16 drawings inwhich numerals'of like charactervdesignate similar parts throughout the several views:

fig. ;1 is 'a perspective View showing the relationship of the'combined bib-and auxiliary'-tray,. to themain tray of a .childs highchair;

Fig. 2is atop plan viewiofthe device;

Fig. 3.is alongitudinal sectional view taken on line 3-3 ofFig-Z;

Fig: 4 is .an.enlargedperspective view-of the supporting frame-forthe auxiliary tray;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentarysectional view, showing the preferred form of inflatable side wall fortheauxiliar-yt tray; and

Fig; 6 is asimilariview showing one modified form of inflatable side wall.

Referring first to the suPPortingframe generally indicated, bythe numeral :10 and best seen in Fig. 4, 'it will be noted that this structure preferably consists of a single wire, bent to'the desired shape to form a substantially semi-circular cover support ll connected at its rear end by atransverse cross-ban-IQ and an integral spring-clamp member 13 lying ina lowerplane and adapted to engage beneath .a highchair tray or table, asiwill la-ter appear. 'Following-the contour of=the-frame :10 and starting at the point 14 on Fig. 4, it willbe seen -.that the wire extends in a straight line for a predetermined distance where it is bentat -15 to form the-substantially semicircular cover-supporting portion -11 which terminates at the-point-l6, where thewireis-bent at an angle to form acontinuation of-the cross-bar 12. Adjacent the-starting point 1 4,the Wire is'bent downwardly at right'angles-as at 17=-and then forwardly and upwardly at an angle as at 18 to form one leg of the clampmemberlla. Fromthe leg18 the 'wire is bent again at right angles to-form the cross member 13 of theclarnp andterminates atits opposite-end in a secondangularleg 19 which isbent upwardlyas at 20 for connection 01m cross-bar lZoft he frame. The extremities of 'the single wire are buttwelded at the starting point 14 and at 21 where the leg "19 joins; the cross-bar 12.

;If desired to facilitate ,thewatta chment of a retaining strap, the intermediate portion ,of the cross member of the clarnp-13 maybe oifsetra s at'22 to'form a strap receiving clearance or recess.

In the, preferred form ofthe invention illustrated. in Figs. "1-5 offthe drawings, a tray.cover proper ,23 is formed of a sheet offlexible plastic material, cut to conform substantially to the contour of the tray24 of a co nventionalv highchair. Thej. for ward arcuate edge of. the .c v .2 ver ies h semi-circu ar suppo' tingr rtiq 1. of the frame 10 and is securedthereto in a rnannerto b e described, while the rear extremity 'ofthe cover'is eitended to form an integral bib portion 25 having bifurcated-end -26 to embrace-the-childs neck-and asuitable snap fastener arrangement 27 for securing the bib in place.

The forward edge of the tray cover proper 23 is bounded by an upstanding, tubular cell 28 formed of air-tight plastic material and shaped in plan profile to conform to the contour of the supporting portion 11 of the frame 10. In this form of the invention, the cell 28 is circular in cross-section as shown in Fig. 5 and is preferably formed of a single sheet of plastic material, closed on the underside of the cell by heat sealing as at 29. One longitudinal edge of the sheet is extended to form a flap 30 which overlies the frame and is adapted to be connected to the underside of the cover 23 by one or more snap fasteners 31. In other words, the base of the flap portion overlaps the edge of the cover 23 which embraces the frame 10 and is heat-sealed thereto to form an integral structure with the cover 23, the entire assembly being removable from the frame by virtue of the snap fasteners 31.

The ends of the tubular cell are closed as at 32 and the side edges of the bib portion 25 are turned upwardly to form wings 33 which are joined to the closed ends 32 of the cell 28 by heat-sealing as at 34. The wings 33 thereby form substantially continuations of the inflatable side walls of the cover 23, formed by the upstanding tubular cell 28, the wings gradually tapering toward the neck receiving end of the bib 25 as will be seen from Figs. 2 and 3. Thus, when the combined tray cover and bib are in use, with the bifurcated end 26 engaging a childs neck, these two components form an integral receptacle, completely surrounding the area immediately in front of the child.

The tray cover and frame are secured in placed on the conventional highchair tray 24 by means of the snap-on clamp 13 which as will be seen from Fig. 3, underlies the lower surface of the tray 24 and engages the latter with sufficient tension to prevent displacement of the frame and tray cover. As an added precaution against displacement, a centrally disposed retaining strap 35 is preferably secured to the underside of the cell 28 by heat-sealing as at 36, its opposite end being looped around the off-set portion 22 of the cross-member of the clamp 13 and secured to itself by a snap fastener 37. The strap 35 engaging the forward edge of the tray 24 and being secured to the clamp edge of the tray, prevents either lateral or vertical displacement of the frame and tray cover.

At a suitable point on the side wall of the cell 28, there is provided a valve member 38 of conventional form, by means of which the cell collapsed. When in inflated condition, it will be apparent that the cell 28 will maintain a relatively firm upstanding position which together with the integral wing portions 33 of the bib will serve to effectively prevent the spilling of food from the tray or the knocking of toys onto the floor.

At the junction of the side wings 33 and the inflatable cell 28, it may be desirable to provide reinforcing strips 39 which are heat-sealed to the outer surfaces of these elements.

Turning now to the modified form of the invention shown in Fig. 6, it may be stated that this is basically the same as that just described, with the exception of the cross-sectional shape of the inflatable cell or side wall and the method of securing the same to the cover proper.

As will be seen from Fig. 6, the modified cell 28a is substantially elliptical in cross-section and the thickness of its side walls is gradually increased as at 40, so that their central portions are thicker than their upper and lower extremities. By gradually thickening the central portions of these opposed walls, the inflated tube 28a is enabled to maintain the desired shape to provide an upwardly and outwardly flaring wall bounding the outer edge of the cover 23.

As in the case of the preferred form of the invention,

13 which engages the rear 28 may be either inflated or the inflatable cell 28a is formed of a Single piece of airtight plastic material with its edges closed and heat-sealed as at 41. In this form, the bounding edge of the cover 23 is looped over upon itself to form a sleeve 42 for receiving the wire frame 10 and a reinforcing strip 43 overlaps and is heat-sealed to the adjacent portion of the cell 28a and the cover 23. The retaining strap 35 is heatsealed between the edge of the cell 28a and the adjacent portion of the wire retaining sleeve 42.

It will be apparent that a combined bib and auxiliary tray made in accordance with this invention not only provides an effective means for preventing the spilling of food during the feeding of an infant and affords a sizable receptacle or basin for confining toys and other articles within a predetermined area, but it readily lends itself to many adaptations. While I have described the structure as a cover and auxiliary tray, it will be understood that in some instances this combination may be used without a main supporting tray and thus serve as the tray itself.

The integral structure of the bib and tray cover and the complete absence of stitches and seams renders the device far more sanitary and provides a much neater appearance than would otherwise be the case.

Furthermore, the collapsible feature facilitates the packing and storing of the device and from a merchandising standpoint, it presents a more compact package.

From the foregoing, it is believed that my invention may be readily understood by those skilled in the art without further description, it being borne in mind that numerous changes may be made in the details of construction without departing from the spirit of the invention as set forth in the following claims.

I claim:

1. A combined collapsible infants bib and tray, comprising an open frame adapted to rest on a flat support, a separable cover of flexible material extending across said frame to form a bottom, an envelope of flexible material at least partially bounding the underside of said bottom for removably receiving said frame, the front and sides of said cover adjacent said bottom being bounded by an upstanding wall consisting of an inflatable cell terminating in closed ends on opposite sides of said bottom, the unbounded rear portion of said cover being extended to form an integral bib, the side edges of said bib being turned upwardly to form side wings, respectively contiguous with the closed ends of said cell, means for securing the extremity of said bib around a childs neck, and means formed integrally with said frame for anchoring the latter to said flat support.

2. A combined collapsible infants bib and tray comprising a tray portion having a bottom of flexible material, the front and sides of said bottom being bounded by an upstanding wall consisting of an inflatable cell, terminating in closed ends on opposite sides of the rear of said bottom, the unbounded rear portion of said bottom being extended to form an integral bib terminating in a neck-receiving end, the side edges of said bib being turned upwardly to form side wings, respectively contiguous with the closed ends of said cell and gradually tapering toward said neck-receiving end, and means for securing said bib around a childs neck.

3. A combined collapsible infants bib and tray comprising a tray portion having a bottom of flexible plastic material, the front and sides of said bottom being bounded by an upstanding wall consisting of an inflatable plastic cell, terminating in closed ends on opposite sides of the rear of said bottom, the unbounded rear portion of said bottom being extended to form an integral bib terminating in a neck'receiving end, the side edges of said bib being turned upwardly to form side wings, respectively contiguous with the closed ends of said cell and gradually tapering toward said neck-receiving end, and means for securing said bib around a childs neck.

4. A combined infants bib and tray as claimed in claim 3, wherein said cell is circular in cross-sectional profile.

5. A combined infants bib and tray as claimed in claim 3, wherein said cell is elliptical in cross-sectional profile.

6. A combined infants bib and tray as claimed in claim 5, wherein the side Walls of said elliptical cell are thickened centrally to add vertical support and shape retention.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Mott Oct. 13, 1868 Stitcher Aug. 8, 1876 Chambers Dec. 2, 1930 Bruni Nov. 2, 1943 Alvarez June 15, 1948 Hasselquist Nov. 14, 1950 Neiswander Dec. 5, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS Great Britain Jan. 22, 1886 France Sept. 7, 1908 France July 25, 1908 

